Door closer and check



May 1, 1934; G. H. ANDERSON DOOR CLOSER AND CHECK Filed April 23, 1932 6. M 76 m l Rd 1 7 c n /D l 1 75 .I ,MH a m t ,5 l 7 .6 7 Q. 4. I M i a. M 5 m.. 2 4 ,A i

ATTORNEY Patented May 1934 DOOR CLOSER AND CHECK Gustav H. Anderson, New Britain, Sonn., assigner to The Hart & Hutchinson Company, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application April 23, 1932, Serial No. 607,155

i2 Claims. (Cl. l66l) This invention relates to door closers and checks, and more particularly to a device of this 4nature adapted to be concealed within a door or door jamb. l

One object of this invention is to provide a door closerand check of the above nature in which the door is closed by a strong coiled spring,

and the action of said spring is retarded by a piston working against a liquid of high viscosity l0 forced through a restricted passage.

A further object is to provide a door closer and check of the above nature in which the resistance to the door closing spring will be substantially uniform during the entire door swing, ex-

cept at the end of the closing movement when the resistance to said spring will be suddenly releasedto/insure the proper latching of the door.

A further object is to provide a door closer'and check of the above nature consisting of two super- 26 posed cylinders having a valve controlled by-pass therebetween.

A further object is' to provide a device of the above nature in which the upper cylinder contains a iloating piston' and the lower cylinder a 2li spring actuated piston having ilexible connection with a stationary door jamb.

A further .object is to provide a construction of this nature in which the viscous liuid is conned at all times in the space in the cylinders between' the two moving pistons, thus eliminating air pockets due to the tendency of the liquid .to seek its' own level.

A further object is to provide a door closer and check of the above nature in which the speed of closing the door may be regulated by means of a needle valve adjustable from the exterior, and also in which the increased pressure at-the end of the door closing movement may be eliminated in cases where there is no door latch.

A further object is to provide a door closer and check/of the above nature which will be simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, and very efficient and durable in use.

"i5 'With these and other objects in view there has been illustrated on the accompanying drawing one form in which the invention may be conveniently embodied in practice.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 represents a fragmentary horizontal sectional view through a door and door frame, showing a door closer and check assembled therein.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of the door closer and check detached from the door.

Fig. 3 is a rear end view of the same.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the.

same.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional view through the inner or front end of the door closer and check, showing the valve mechanism as it appears just after the resistance to the closing spring has been released to permit latching of the door.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken along 65 the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective View of the sliding check valve releasing Plate.

Referring now to the drawing in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral 10 indicates a door adapted to be pivotally supported within a door frame or casing 11, by means of hinges 12. A deep recess 13 is provided in the rear section of the door 10 to receive a door closer 75 and check device generally indicated by the numeral 14. The door closer and check 14 consists of a pair of tubular cylinders l5 andY 16 located one above the other in spaced parallel relationship, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The 8o front ends of the cylinders 15 and 16 are connected to each other by means of a spacing block 17, which `is permanently secured to the outer peripheries of said cylinders in any suitable manner, as by soldering. 'I'he rear end of the upper sg cylinder 15 is tightly seatedupon a round supporting block 18, which is detachably secured to a door'face plate 19, as by a screw 18a engaged in a tapped hole 18h concentrically formed in said block 18. 'Ihe rear end of the lower cylinder 90 16 is similarly attached to a reduced turned section 20 of a square support block 21 which is detachably secured to the face plate 19, as by a pair of screws 22.

The face plate 19 is adapted to support and hold 95 the door closer unit 14 within the recessv13, and said plate may be secured to the rear edge of the door 10 as by Wood screws adapted to t in four beveled countersunk holes 23 provided in the corners of said face plate, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

The front end of the upper cylinder 15 is tightly sealed by means of a thick disc or plug 24.

V- The plug y24 is provided with a concentric tapped hole through which the cylinders l5 and 16 may be charged with a liquid of suitable viscosity, and said tapped hole is adapted to be sealed by a screw 25, a leak-preventive leather washer 26 being interposed between the head of said screw and the plug 24.

A floating piston 27 is adapted to be freely re- 110 ciprocated by suction within the upper cylinder. The oating piston 27 preferably consists of a solid cylindrical block 28 having a pair of oppositely arranged hat leathers 29 and 30 detachably secured to the opposed faces of said block 28 by means of a pair of metal washers 31 and 32 tting within the crown of said hat leathers 29 and 30, and a pair of llister screws 33 and 34 screwed within a tapped hole 35 centrally located in said block 28. As shown in Fig. 4, the iioating piston divides the upper cylinder 15 into two compartments 36 and 37. The left-hand compartment 36 is an air compartment which is adapted to be freely vented at all times through a longitudinal bore 38 in the rear cylinder support block 18, said bore being in alinernent with a vent hole 39 provided in the face plate 19. The righthand compartment 37 is a liquid reservoir which is completely lled at al1 times regardless of the varying capacity of said compartment 37 dueto the movement of the floating piston 27.

In the lower cylinder 16 provision is made of a spring actuated piston 40 consisting of a solid cylindrical block 41 having a pair of oppositely extending reduced sections 42 and 43. The front reduced section 43 is provided with a suitable nonleakable packing in the form of a pair of inverted juxtaposed hat leathers 44 and 45 adapted to be suitably reinforced by a pair `of metal Washers 46 and 47 and detachably secured to said reduced section 43, as by a cap screw 48.

Thev rear reduced section 42 is pivotally attached to a connecting link 49 which in turn is plvotally secured to the inner extremity of a specially constructed non-kinkable chain 50,

which was fully described in applicants prior.

pending application, Serial No. 516,641, iiled February 18, 1931. The chain 50 is adapted-to be guided through a rectangular aperture 51 cut lin the face plate 19 and support block 20 by means of a roller 50a pivoted on a vertical pin 56h in said block 20. IThe outer end of said chain 50 is `provided with suitable anchorage in a jamb plate 52secured to the door frame 11, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

In order to press the piston 40 forwardly at alltimes into a liquid lled chamber 53, provision is made of a strong helical compression spring 54, one end of which abuts against the turned section 20 of the supporting block 21, and the other end is adapted to seat upon a shoulder formed by the reduced section 42 of the piston block 4l.

Valve mechanism The valve mechanism of the door check is located in the front of the chamber 53 of the f bottom cylinder 16, as clearly shown in Figs. 4

' The valve block 55 is provided with an integral forwardly extending reduced shank 56 permanently secured within a concentric disc or plug 57, which is adapted to seal the end of the lower cylinder 16. By means of this construction, it is obvious that an annular compartment 58 is formed in the front of the cylinder 16 surrounding the shank 56. This compartment 58 has a suitable passageway leading to the upper compartment 37 consisting ci a relatively large vertical hole 59 drilled through a T-connection 60 integral with the spacing block 17. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the T-connection 60 is adapted to protrude through suitable apertures provided in adjacent cylindrical surfaces of the cylinders 15 and 16.- The annular compartment 58 communicates with the chamber 53 in the lower cylinder 16, by means of a longitudinal tubular passage 61 eccentrically located in the lower part of the valve block 55.

In order to prevent the iiow of liquid through the passage 61 when the piston 40 is being retracted by the compression spring 54, provision is made of a ball check valve 62 which is adapted to seat against the sharp annular front edge of the passage 61. 'Ihe ball valve 62 is loosely held within a ball retaining cage63 rigidly secured to the front face of the valve block 55. I

Obviously with the passage 61 tightly sealed by the ball valve 62, it will be necessary for the fluid to seek a different passage back into the upper cylinder 15, which is accomplished by f means of a by-pass -port 64"opening into the chamber 53. The port 64 leads into a needle valve chamber 65 having access to the chamber 37 through a reduced bleed hole 66 leading into the within the spacing block 17, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. The operating end of the needle valve `twocylinders and having threaded engagement rod 68 is rotatably supported in -an aperture 69 formed inthe face plate 19, and said rod 68 is provided with an end slot 70 for receiving a screw driver for adjusting the needle valve pin 67.

AIn order to permit a sudden release of the uid pressure in the chamber 53 at the end of the closing stroke of the piston 40 for the purpose of latching the door 10, provision is made of a vertically sliding valve 'releasing plate 71, which is adapted to be loosely held against the front face of the valve block 55 by means of the retaining cage 63, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5. As shown in the detail view of Fig. 7, the valve releasing plate 71 is provided with a key-hole slot 72, said slot 72 consisting of a small upper semicircular aperture 73 merging into a larger spherically cupped aperture 74 suitably formed to loosely t the contour of the ball valve 62.

The releasing plate 7l is adapted to be vertically raised at a predetermined time from the position shown in Fig. 4 to the position shown in Fig. 5 by means of a plunger pin 75 adjustably secured in a tapped hole provided in the piston cap screw 48, said pin 75 being locked in adjusted position by means of a small set screw. 48a threadedly engaged in a tapped hole provided in the head of said cap screw.

The pin 75 is provided-with-a tapered extrefr'iy ity 76 and on the return stroke of the piston 40 will pass through an aperture 63a in the retaining cage 63, and also through the senil-circular aperture 73 of the key-hole slot 72 causing the plate 71 to ride over the tapered extremity 76 and upon the top surface of the pin 75, which action will cause the ball valve 62 to roll out of the spherically cupped aperture 74, thus unseating the valve 62 from the opening in the tubular passage 61, as clearly shown in Fig. 5. When the plunger pin 75 is in its foremost position, it will be loosely fitted within an elongated cavity 77 concentrically formed in the valve block 55.

Y Operation closed to open position, the piston 40 will approach the rear Voi? the cylinder 16, causing the helical spring 54 to be compressed, as shown in Fig. 4. This movement of the piston 40 will create a vacuum within the chamber 53, and cause the ball check valve 62 to move to the left within the cage 63 and unseat itself from the front opening in the passage. 61. The liquid will thus be permitted to flow freely from the front comparti wardly d ue to the liquid being drained out of the compartment 37 and the action of atmospheric y pressure on the rear of said piston 27.

It will thus be seen that relatively little resistance will be offered to the opening of the door 10, but as soon as the door is released, the ball check valve 62 will be forced back against its seat in the opening of the tubular passage 61, and further movement of the piston 40 to the right under the influence of the spring 54 will be retarded by reason of the fact that the liquid in the chamber 53 is caused to ow through the by-pass port 64, the

needle valve chamber 65, and the relatively small bleed hole 66, whereby the closing of the door will be cushioned to the desired extent.

The needle valve pin 67 may, of course, be so adjusted with respect to the valve chamber to obtain any desired closing speed. Near the come pletion of the return stroke of the piston 40, the pressure in the chamber will be suddenly released by the cooperating valve releasing plate 71 and pin '75 which causes the ball check valve 62 to unseat and allow unrestricted flow of liquid back into the upper chamber 37, thus permitting the door 10 to be shut quickly at the end of its swing intoflatching engagement.

If the door 10 is constructed without a latch, it will be unnecessary to release the pressurey of the spring at the end of the closing strokeof the piston. In this case the pin 75 may be readily removed by unscrewing it from the cap screw 48.

While the door closer and check 14 has been herein disclosed as located within the door 10, it will be understood that/itA is within the spirit and scope of the present invention to reverse this arrangement and locate said door closer and check 10 within the door casing 11 and fasten the. chain 50 to the rear edge of the door 13 While there has been disclosed in this specification one form in which the invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure but may be modified and embodied in various other. forms without departing from its spirit. In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiments coming within casing, and means to permit a restricted flow of liquid from one cylinder to the other to check the closing of said door.

2. In a door closer and check, a pair of parallel cylinders placed one above the other, a floating piston in the upper cylinders for dividing said cylinder into two chambers, one an air chamber open to the atmosphere and the other a liquid chamber, a spring actuated piston in the lower chamber, flexible means for connecting said lower piston with a door casing, a spring within said lower chamber for urging said piston to closed position, a liquid within said cylinders in contact with one side of each piston, means for allowing an unrestricted ow' of liquid from one cylinder` to the other during the opening of the door, means to permit a restricted reverse flow of liquid within the cylinder to check the closing of the door, and means for adjusting the restricted reverse flow of liquid for changing the speed of closing the door.

3. In a door closer and check, a pair of parallel cylinders located one above the other, a spacing block located adjacent one end of said cylinders for separating the same, a face plate connecting the other end of said cylinders, a floating piston fitted Within the upper cylinder and having one side in contact with the atmosphere, a spring-pressed piston tted within the lower cylinder, a liquid within said cylinders filling the space between said pistons, flexible means for connecting the lower piston with a door casing, means in said spacing block for allowing unrestricted flow of oil between said cylinders during the opening of the door, and means-in said block to restrict the flow of liquid between said chamber during the closing of said door.

4. In a door closer and check, a pair of parallel cylinders, a spacing block for holding said cylinders in separated relation, a face plate attached to one end of said cylinders, a floating piston in said upper cylinder for dividing said cylinder into an air and a liquid compartment, an atmospheric vent hole leading into said air compartment, a piston fitted within the lower cylinder, a spring within said lower chamber for l ing the opening of the door, means to restrio'u i the reverse ow of liquid during :lie closing of the door, and means for releasing the flow restricting means at a predetermined time for permitting the spring to snap the door suddenly into latching engagement. v

5. In a door closer and check, a pair of parallel cylinders placed one above the other, a floating piston in the' upper cylinder for dividing said cylinder into an atmospheric compartment and a liquid lled compartment, a spring-pressed pist0n, a chain of limited ilexibility connected to the rear of said lower piston, anti-friction means for guiding said chain through the rear of said lower cylinder, means for attaching the outer end of said chain to a door casing. means for permitting an unrestricted flow of liquid from one cylinder to the other during the opening of the door, and

means for permitting a restricted reverse flow of?.

liquid between said cylinders during the door onthe rear of said oating piston, a springpressed piston fitted within said lower cylinder, iiexible means forconneeting said latter piston with a door casing, the space in front of said lower piston. being filled at all times, and a liquid nlled passage connecting the front ends or said cylinders. v

'1. In a door closer and check, a pair of parallel cylinders locatedl one above the other, a Boating piston in the .upper cylinder and having one side in contact with the atmosphere, a spring actuated piston tted within the lower cylinder, ilexible means for connecting the lower piston with a door casing, a liquid completely illllng the space ycleared.

In a door closer and check, a pair of parallel cylinders located one above the other, a floating piston in the upper cylinder, a spring actuated piston tted within the lower cylinder, nexible means tor connecting the lower piston with a door casing, a liquid completely rilling the space in said cylinders between said pistons, means for connecting the interior of said cylinders `for permit ting an unrestricted now oi liquid between said cylinders when the door is being opened, adiustable means between said cylinders for restricting the reverse ow oi liquid when the door is being closed, and valve means in the lower cylinder for releasing the restriction on the reverse iiow of liquid at a predetermined time.

9. In a door closer and check, a pair of parallel cylinders located one above the other, a floating piston in-the upper cylinder and having one side in contact with the atmosphere, a spring actuated piston tted within the lower cylinder, flexible means for connecting the lower piston with a door ilexbe means for connecting the lower piston r,957,sos

with a door casing, a liquid completely lling the space in said cylinders between said pistons, an 4unrestricted iluid passage connecting said cylinders, a restricted by-pass, a valve in said lower chamber for permitting the uid to novi through said passage when the door is being opened, and means for diverting the liquid through said lay-pass when said door is being closed, said diverting means comprising a ball check valve adapted to close a valve passage when said door is being closed, and means connected to said piston means for unseating said valve just before the end o the stroke of said piston.

ll. In a door closer and check, a pair of parallel cylinders located one above the other, a float= ing piston in the upper cylinder, a spring actuated piston tted within the lower cylinder, ilexible means or connecting the lower piston with a door casing, a liquid completely nlling the space in said cylinders between said pistons, an unrestricted uid passage connecting said cylinders,

a restricted icy-pass, a valve in said lower chamber for permitting the duid to flow through said pas-s sage when the door is being opened, and means for diverting the liquid through said ley-pass when said door is being closed, said diverting means comprising a ball check valve adapted to close lll@ allel cylinders located one above the other, e, u

floating piston in the upper cylinder, a spring actuated piston tted within the lower cylinder, exible means for connecting the lower piston with a door casing, a liquid completely iilling the space in said cylinders between said pistom, an unrestricted nid passage connecting said cylinders, a restricted lay-pass, a valve block located in said lower cylinder between said duid passage and said lay-pass, a valve controlled duid passage in said block, a call valve adapted to seat in said valve passage and prevent a reverse non of liquid when the door is being closed, a ball retaining cage attached to said valve block, a vertln cal apertured plate engaging said ball valve, a rod attached to said spring actuated piston adapted to pass through said aperture and raise said plate to unseat said ball valve before the end of the stroke of said piston. y

v GUSTAV H., ANDERSON.

per 

